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Missouri Senate adopts session rules, refers appointments and reads hundreds of prefiled bills
Summary
The Missouri Senate adopted rules for the 2026 regular session, sent a formal notice to the House, referred gubernatorial appointments to the committee on gubernatorial appointments and placed hundreds of prefiled bills on first reading across topics from taxation to health care and AI.
The Missouri Senate convened for the opening of the 2026 regular session and adopted procedural rules carried over from the prior session, a step that will govern floor deliberations for the coming term.
Senator from Platt moved adoption of Senate Resolution 526 to adopt the rules from the first regular session "as amended, so far as they are applicable," and the motion carried by voice vote. He followed with Senate Resolution 527, a formal notice to the House and governor that the Senate is duly convened; that motion also passed by voice vote.
Madam Secretary read a communication from Secretary of State Denny Hoskins listing members and districts "in compliance with section 115.525, Revised Statutes of Missouri," establishing the membership record for the 103rd General Assembly. The Secretary also read the Bill of Rights into the record at the request of the chair under Mo. Rev. Stat. §9.141.
During the organizational proceedings the Senate referred gubernatorial appointments to the committee on gubernatorial appointments at the request of a senator identified in the transcript during the opening remarks.
The chamber then placed a very large set of prefiled measures on first reading. The list read into the record covered a broad array of policy areas: taxation and tax credits; elections and campaign finance; public safety and firearms; health care, including bills on maternal mortality and coverage of certain cancer screenings; education measures such as free school breakfast and lunch and changes to school board election rules; technology topics including bills on artificial intelligence and synthetic media; and a range of administrative and technical statutes. Several bills specifically noted in the reading address renewable energy standards, a moratorium on solar construction, gender-transition procedures, and changes to the state legal expense fund.
No roll-call tallies were recorded on the floor for the resolution adoptions; the proceedings show both resolutions passed by voice vote with the presiding officer announcing "the ayes do have it." The first reading places bills on the docket for committee referral and future consideration; no substantive debate on any single bill occurred during this session.
The House transmitted concurrent resolutions arranging joint sessions to receive messages from state officials, including a joint session scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, to receive a message from Governor Mike Kehoe and a joint session on Jan. 28, 2026, to receive the Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court. The Senate appointed to adjourn under the rules at the conclusion of the day's formal business.
What happens next: Bills placed on first reading will be assigned to committees for hearings and markup before any floor votes. The adopted rules will guide debate and amendments for the remainder of the session.
